This invention relates to a toy construction kit for building wet sand structures. The toy construction kit includes sets of building modules for casting supportable sand components in making large and elaborate sand structures.
Children enjoy playing in the sand at the beach, or in a playground or home "sandbox." Particular enjoyment is derived from building sand castles and other sand structures from wet or damp sand. Building large or complex sand structures often requires an artistic talent and dexterity not possessed by young children. In fact, such structures are frequently built by young adults, often in teams, during competitions. As the wet sand begins to dry, the sand structure crumbles under its own weight, often before the entire structure is completed.
To provide younger children with the means to produce large, imposing structures in a short period of time, casting pails are frequently used. By packing sand in a sand pail, and inverting the pail at the desired location, elements of a structure can be completed quickly before appreciable drying occurs. While this method is popular with young children, the inability to construct tall and complex structures leads to disinterest and boredom.
In order to provide young children and enthusiastic adults with a challenge in building cast sand structures, the toy construction kit of this invention was devised. The primary problem with the use of existing pail cast structures is the inability to stack castings or span between castings. The toy construction kit of this invention solves the problems of existing sand casting kits that merely provide a series of different molds, and provides structural elements to greatly expand the type and size of structures buildable using the toy construction kit.
The toy construction kit is designed as an educational tool to both develop motor skills and conceptualization. Building integrated structures from a set of modules requires a gradual increase in dexterity as the structures increase in complexity.
The toy construction kit was primarily designed for use with wet sand, but any compactible material, such as snow can be used with the construction kit. In summer or winter, hours of enjoyment can be provided with the toy construction kit of this invention.